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Learning the Greek alphabet

As I said in my discussion of different scripts, the Hellenic languages use the Greek alphabet. Here it is. I’m afraid the table is a little complicated, because (a) each letter has a name, which it’s useful to know, and (b) there are some differences in pronunciation between Ancient Greek (which is still a language that people want to learn today), and Modern Greek. To try and keep it simple, I have only mentioned those that are not as they seem to an English speaker (Ancient Greek), or, in Modern Greek, those that vary from their Ancient sounds.

Name

Transcription

Ancient Greek pronunciation

Modern Greek pronunciation

Α α

alpha

a

short as in await or cup, or long as in father

as in father

Β β

beta

b

v as in vote

Γ γ

gamma

g

as in get, but sometimes like sing

y as in yellow

Δ δ

delta

d

th as in then

Ε ε

epsilon

e

short e, as in set

Ζ ζ

zeta

z

as in wisdom

z as in zoo

Η η

eta (long e)

e

long e, as in hair

i as in machine

Θ θ

theta

th

t as in top

th as in thin

Ι ι

iota

i

short, as in hit

Κ κ

kappa

k

Λ λ

lambda

l

Μ μ

mu

m

Ν ν

nu

n

Ξ ξ

xi

ks

Ο ο

omicron

o

short as in pot

Π π

pi

p

Ρ ρ

rho

r

trilled

Σ ς

sigma

s

Τ τ

tau

t

Υ υ

upsilon

u or y

short as in French lune, or long as in French ruse

Φ φ

phi

ph

as in pot

f as in five

Χ χ

chi (kh)

ch

as in cat

ch as in loch or Bach

Ψ ψ

psi

ps

both pronounced, as in lips

Ω ω

omega (long o)

ô

as in saw

short o, as in soft

Here are some visual mnemonics to help you learn all this. Note that these mnemonic cards include a keyword to help you remember the name of the letter, and another one to help you remember how it’s pronounced.